February 14, 2006

The ABA on the domestic surveillance

The American Bar Association told President George W. Bush on Monday to either stop domestic eavesdropping without a warrant or get the law changed to make it legal.

Hmm..I guess the American Bar Association thinks Bush's domestic spying is illegal. But before the conservatives in the audience raise the canard that this proves somehow that the ABA wants to stop Bush from collecting any information on al qaeda, let's take a look at the next paragraph:

"We do not say surveillance should be stopped, only that it comply with the law," said Neal Sonnett, a Miami lawyer who headed the task force formed to look at the issue not long after the spying program came to light in December.

A few lines later:

"We are not trying to limit the President's ability to go after terrorists," Sonnett told the group's House of Delegates before it passed his task force's resolution with relatively little debate.

"Nobody wants to hamstring the President," he added, "But we cannot allow the US Constitution and our rights to become a victim of terrorism," he added.

[ABA president Michael] Grecco told the group the issue is not whether the President can conduct surveillance but whether he can do it unilaterally.

The report can be found here. According to the ABA website, the recommendations now reflect official ABA policy.